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Truth: Recent Aging Research May Cause Confusion And Gray Hair

Studies: You’ve got to love them. Just this week alone in the world of aging research, we learned that selfies can prematurely age your skin, sunbathing may actually be good for you, and older people who take the stairs are mentally sharper than those who wait for the elevator. Oh, and the debate was reignited over whether a nightly glass of wine is good for longevity.

It’s enough to make your head spin. Taking it from the top, and with a grain of salt that may or may not be good for those with hypertension:

1. Selfies cause wrinkles and age your skin.

Yes, they can but no, they won’t. A 26-year-old British blogger who takes at least 50 selfies a day consulted a dermatologist to see if the high-energy visible (HEV) light from her cellphone screen was causing her skin to age prematurely. The doctor, who doesn’t deserve to be named here, said that this was, in fact, the case. The visible light from her phone — and computer screens — could play a role in causing skin to develop dark spots as well as in promoting the breakdown of collagen, which leads to wrinkles. Other doctors put it in perspective: The impact of visible light on aging the skin is minuscule compared to ultraviolet light, which has been scientifically and convincingly proven to cause skin aging and skin cancer.

2. The sun is bad for you, except when it isn’t.

Sunbathers live longer than people who avoid the sun, according to a new study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. Yes, but do they live with skin cancer while they are living longer? Apparently so in this pick-your-poison study. An analysis of information on 30,000 Swedish women —> Read More